Its a place undefined in time, a location that no one would ever willingly travel to. Are we there yet? The answer is yes. But its going to take 7 to 8 years for the reality to sink in.

Saturday, June 04, 2016

Unemployment An Invisible Problem Of This Great Depression

The jobs report came out and it looks as if the country as a whole only created 38,000 jobs for the month of May and I believe they readjusted the figures for April down to 123,000 from 160.000.

The good news is that the unemployment rate went from 5% down to 4.7%. Of course the news that 500,000 people stopped looking for work kind of makes you wonder about the idiots cranking out the figures. It’s a little bit like an expert hunter talking about taking “sound shots” while hunting. That’s where you hear a noise in the bush and take a shot at it. You know what he’s doing, and your only question is why?

Obama asked at a town meeting if he would have done anything different in his Presidency, said that he wished that he had advised the people of the severity of the recession we were in at the time it was happening.

The economic consensus of our present mess, is that we walked by the graveyard whistling and got to the other side without a scratch. The trouble is, the demons know you have to come back the other way sooner or later.

Some other news source stated that half of the US population can’t come up with $400 cash for an emergency, they need to use a credit card. That scares me.

Blue Shield in Texas has announced that they will increase premium rates by 60% November 1st. If you are paying $400 now, it’s not rocket science to calculate the new monthly payment; but you’d have to be a rocket scientist to cover the increased premium for a family of 3. Obama Care will destroy the private insurance industry. No profit, they are gone. Government programs are like public restrooms, abused just as much as they are used and always underfunded.

46 million households are on food stamps. That’s out of 134 million households. It’s not like anybody is starving, they ought to pass a law against wearing stretch pants in Walmart if you weigh over 200 pounds.

But I digress. Where do we go from here with 14 to 20 percent unemployment? Does raising the minimum wage to $15 create jobs? I can see the logic in wanting to start out at $15 an hour as an employee. We need to ask the question, are the people protesting unemployed? If so, raising the minimum wage is not going to help them get a job. Millions of people were unemployed during the Great Depression. It took government work programs on infrastructure to open up the jobs market. Obama couldn't figure that out, maybe Trump can.

Of course the government claims that unemployment is about 4.7 percent and inflation is almost negative. Then we have the banks paying interest of about 1 percent. Toilet paper use to have 1000 sheets per roll. It’s a buck a roll now and smaller, it has about 200 sheets and the rolls are 2 inches less wide. So a toilet paper inflation calculator suggests that inflation is about 15 percent a year.

The irritating thing is you feel like throwing a roll of toilet paper at a politician, but when times are tough, you have to reconsider, use it where it is really needed.

9 comments:

I think what you're showing is the effects of globalisation. As Western workforces are made to compete with Eastern ones that massively undercut them, unemployment and austerity are baked into the cake. The system may break. I read recently that the reason you didn't see massive demonstrations in the Depression was that the cities were bust and couldn't cater for the underclass, who went elsewhere - and many of whom died of malnutrition-related illness.

I agree, the unemployment problem is probably twice as bad in Europe and Asia than it is here. The vote on the Brexit could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Democracy has lost the qualities that made it desirable. Today's democracies are more like a kid's world with no adults present.

Thank you for the link. Its funny that the author suggests that if we get rid of the laziness, the US could improve even more. There is a bit of truth in that, and naturally it will fall on deaf ears.

Been a while since I posted here. I noticed you posted at burning Platform today. I spend most days there shit with those monkeys. Anyways what amazes me is how plates can still be spinning. I started out blogging here. That wasn't yesterday. Here we are 10 years later. After a market meltdown and failed two term President and still experts want to pretend that we have whistled our way past the problem. But like you say at end of day we will have to turn around and walk back thru graveyard trying to remember where the landmines were the first time we walked thru. Odds aren't good we will get back unscathed.

"the rolls are 2 inches less wide": we monitor this dimension carefully because if there's one thing we can't stand it's loo rolls falling out of the holder. For your British readers I can recommend Sainsbury's loo rolls: a comfortable fit in the Australian holder we cherish.

Welcome, it has been a long time. I'll admit that I don't write as much as I used to, I've covered most of it and I hate to repeat myself. Of course after 10 years my memory isn't as good so some of the stuff I write may seem "new" to me all over again.

I don't seriously think anyone even read my comment on Burning Platform. It looks like the author's comment section turned into a flame war with nobody listening and everyone with an opinion to sell as gospel.

Right now, there seems to be more to write about, so lurk around a bit, and be careful not to trip over the tombstones ;>)

I've seen some of those dispensers, the roll drops out if it isn't wide enough. I failed to mention that the paper manufacturers have figured out a way to emboss a scallop into the paper to give it more fluff. To those who notice, it is irritating. Most don't notice, but adapt to the new norm.

The funny thing is, half of the world doesn't even know what a roll of toilet paper looks like, let alone what it is used for.

The prime directive for third world countries, "Do not cut up the colored comics sections of the newspaper for toilet paper." The comics section can give the user the impression that they have bleeding hemorrhoids--(I don't believe I said that)

I'm glad you guys have it under control at your end-- in Australia ;>)

Funny you mention repeating oneself. But I will lurk around a bit. It's funny your site was the first one I stumbled upon all those years ago about coming catastrophe. Here it is 2016 still a slow moving trainwreck. I did read you comment though and remembered your name. As far as the flamewar observation. It is a good one. TBP is turning into Hyde Park and everyone just yells from the top of their soapbox but nobody argues. But I am guilty of it myself. I getting tired of yelling though. At some point it doesn't make a difference anyways. I do think mood in country right now reflects that sentiment. Could be wrong as I have never really been in tune with ebbs and flow of wider society.

The indirect result of all of this corruption and idiocy on the part of governments is the amplification and expansion of the "haves versus the have-nots". This is going to play out as a very destructive situation in the Western world and is going to tear our existing societies apart. Eventually the "Haves" (oligarchy, elite, powers that be, banker class, wealthy, etc.) will not be able to hide in their gated communities and bunkers. Societal collapse will be the result of man being so out of balance.